As part of the celebration of 50 years of Sociology at Manchester University, a one-day conference will be held on 17th September 2014 at the School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester (10am-5pm, room tbc).

The conference is in honour of 50 years of Sociology at Manchester University. Part of the celebrations has also been interviews with leading Manchester sociologists, of which Wes is one. He is also the longest serving current member of staff in the Sociology department. My interview with him in July 2014 can be found on You Tube below:

Session Organizer
Virginia Teas Gill, Illinois State University
Presider
Virginia Teas Gill, Illinois State University
Individual SubmissionsChildren's Responses to Questions in Peer Interaction: Evidence for an Emerging Accountability - Tanya Stivers, University of California-Los Angeles; Jack Sidnell, University of Toronto; Clara Bergen, University of California-Los Angeles The Interactional Production of a Clinical Fact in a Case of Autism - Jason Turowetz, University of Wisconsin-Madison Directives and their Accounts: A Case Study of Institutional Talk in Guide/Client Interactions - Anne White, University of California-Los Angeles When We Eat We Sit Down: Caregivers Using of the First Person Plural Pronoun - Darcey Searles, State University of New Jersey-Rutgers

Regular Session. Social Action and Epistemics
Mon, August 18, 4:30 to 6:10pm,

Session Organizer
Virginia Teas Gill, Illinois State University
Presider
Virginia Teas Gill, Illinois State University
Individual SubmissionsRepetition in Action: Repair, Newsmarking, Registration, Extraction - John Heritage, University of California-Los Angeles Expanding and Challenging the Relevance of Experience: Epistemic and Deontic Incongruities in Radio Phone-Ins - Wytske Versteeg, University of Twente; Hedwig te Molder, Wageningen University Experiential Assessments and Attributive Assessments: Managing Territories of Experience in Conversation - Kaoru Hayano, Ochanomizu University Ignorance at Risk: Interaction at the Knowledge Boundary of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme - David R. Gibson, University of Notre Dame

Section Session. Studies of Healthcare Work
Tue, August 19, 12:30 to 2:10pm,

Session Organizer
Gary C. David, Bentley University
Presider
Gary C. David, Bentley University
Individual SubmissionsClosing the Deal: The Role of Symptomatic Relief in Primary Care Treatment Discussions - Clara Ann Blomgren Bergen, University of California-Los Angeles Information-sharing and Treatment Proposal in Breast Cancer Consultations - Francesca Alby, University of Rome; Mattia Baruzzo, Sapienza University of Rome; Marilena Fatigante, Sapienza University of Rome; Cristina Zucchermaglio, Sapienza University of Rome Tactility as a Resource for the Organization of Interaction - Aug Nishizaka, Meiji Gakuin University The Common-senses of Homeopathy: A Study of Meaning Making in Homeopathic Consultations - Will Gibson, University of London

Section Session. Current Studies in Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis
Tue, August 19, 10:30am to 12:10pm,

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

As incoming co-chair, can I reinforce Dirk and Erik’s message about renewing your subscription to the section and encouraging any benevolent ASA member friends to join. Dirk and Erik have appealed to your competitive spirit but I prefer appeals to self-interest! Many of you may not realise that the number of panels the section can run depends on the number of members we have by the end of September. If you think you want to come to Chicago and present a paper – or even just listen to a lot of interesting papers – then boosting membership is absolutely critical. If we don’t have the slots, we can’t accept the papers. For a lot of us that means we don’t get our fares paid and who wants to miss out on all the excitement of ASA in one of the world’s great cities. I love Chicago and I want to share it with lots of you – please help the co-chairs to help you by getting as many people signed up as possible by September 30.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

As you know Dirk and I are in the final months of time as co-chairs of our section. We feel that we have achieved a lot in the past two years--from the setting up of our own web-site, to the creation of the most colorful newsletter (thanks to Laura Loeb), to a very successful ASA in NYC last year and another one coming up in San Francisco.

We also increased our membership last year compared to the year before. This year our membership is lagging a bit compared to last year, no doubt in part due to the ICCA conference in UCLA which was such a hit with many of our members. So a slight drop in membership was to be expected and we think that Robert Dingwall and Mardi Kidwell will surely increase our numbers once again next year.

All that being said, there is one goal Dirk and I have not yet achieved, and we need your help with most urgently. As of today, our membership count is still lower than that of the section Animals & Society, ASA’s second smallest section. It has been Dirk and my abiding concern that we catch them before our time is up, so we ask that you please ask members of other sections that you know to also chip in the $5 to become a member of EMCA so we can restore our honorable section to its proper place in the hierarchy of sections: firmly above Animals and Society.